Challenge to/question for the asian mythology/history lovers on the flist

[meganbmoore]

So, the name Mikage/Mikagi seems to keep popping up for me in anime and manga.

It's likely best known from Yuu Watase's Ceres: Celestial Legend/Ayashi no Ceres as the family name of the main character, Aya, and the name of her ancestor who, along with his celestial wife/mortal enemy, was reincarnated generation after generation in his descendants.

The only other place I've seen it prominently is in Chika Shiomi's Night of the Beasts, where Mikage is the name of the ancestress of the two leads, who was bonded to a demon.  That demon, and an enemy demon, were also passed down through the generations in Mikage's descendants.

In both books, the "evil" spirit took over the body of the descdendant and used it to wreak havoc, while the "Good" spirit emerged to battle it and allied with the descendant whose body it possessed.

I've seen Mikage/Mikagi used a few other times for minor characters, seemingly always inconnection with the ideas of demons and/or rebirth.

My question is:  Is there a major belief, legend or person associated with this name?  Or does it just have a meaning similar to rebirth?  

Yes, this has been bugging me off and on for months and I haven't been able to find an answer.

"Why are so many ninja's named Sasuke?" was so much easier...

Comments

[magicnoire.livejournal.com]

I think mikage means something like "autumn shadow" and has something to do with death? (I think it refers to a person's soul?)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

i can live with that, as it seems to usually be associated,chracerwise,with rebirth.